Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Most Dejected I think I've Ever Been

Today the stars seemed to be aligning that my son and I would finally have the time for a good ride before he heads back to college. I've been pretty upset for most of the summer (since he has been home) due to work getting in the way of spending some time with him on the bikes. I've definately not been spending the time with him that I wanted too... today would be different, no friends with us just me and him on Skyline Drive making some turns.

We headed out and immediately my bike starts the backfiring and stalling out CRAP again. We didn't even get a mile from the house before it dies completely. After a while it finally starts back up and I limp it pushing, backfiring and stalling back to the house.

To say I was (and still am) upset doesn't come close to describing how I feel. I knew it was a distinct possibility because it never has been fixed despite weeks and weeks in the shop, replacement of 3 coils a battery and the pick up sensor on the crank. Since replacing the coils this last time it has intermitently been doing the backfiring and stalling out CRAP... but sometimes I can ride all day with it running fine (like yesterday when we couldn't ride together).

Now due to our schedules at Thanksgiving and Christmas (we won't be home for either of them) I won't get the chance to ride with him again until next summer!

Today I hoped would be another one of the good days... it turned out to be the worst.

Sorry to hear that, Don. I can understand your frustration. It sucks that all 3 important things to you(spending time with your son, your bike's health, and the joy of riding with your son) are all backfiring on you. No pun intended there.
It'll all come together here eventually.

Don, I'm sorry that your bike still hasn't been fixed correctly and it ruined your ride with your son. That really sucks. Why has your dealer not replaced the ignitor to see if that is the problem? Coils and battery and pick up sensor replaced, but no CDI? After all those attempts?

BECAUSE TRIUMPH WON'T LET THEM REPLACE THEM!!!!

This sucks, Don, how long must you live like a sheep? Call a lawyer or dump the bike. This is why I did not buy and will not buy a T-Bird. Those people in Georgia suck. They have collectively decided not to stand behind electrical issues.

It would be way too expensive for them and a sorry admission of purpose built junk.

When, as a group, will we send 100 emails to this dealer and to Georgia about this. I am ready, just say when Don.

Now lets get 3 apologist for Triumph and two analyzing the mechanical, "did you check this" stuff in this thread when what we need is a demonstration of how much this sucks.

If you lived close to me, you would be riding my bike. Son time is not replaceable.

I am also ready to send email to Peter Carleo and others about this issue.

Thanks Dave, its about time we realized the size of our group. We can make people nervous and push them to do the right thing if we do it together. Our group has a lot of members.

Imagine if you were Carleo and you got dozens of mails about how you screwed Don and this will have to be considered before you buy another Triumph. You think that numnuts dealer ain't gonna get a call?

What is Carleo's mail, I know some of you have it?

Okay, seems like a large number of us have had ignitor failures. We need an accurate head count so we can work on the next step, petitioning for redress.
Count me in, I'm on my 2nd and I still have the original in hand.

Phone for Peter Carleo: 678-854-2010

Mr. Peter Carleo
385 Walt Sanders Memorial Drive
Newnan, GA 30265

can't find an email address yet

we should all give this guy a WTF!? call.

I know what your talking about ...the good times I have had riding with my son..PRICELESS

Ed

If you're counting heads of those who have had igniter problems then count me. I trailerd all the way from NY to Daytona only to be stranded because of the faulty igniter. Limped to a dealer who couldn't find the problem. I hate paying someone to NOT fix anything. Trailered back home
and even though an ohm test said the igniter was OK I replaced it anyway and it was the problem. The replacement has not had any problems but my vacation was pretty much ruined.

Like I (and others) have said before: It's a bad igniter.
Someone get the e-mail addy. Count me in as mine crapped out and I'm just waiting for the replacement to do the same.

I agree with oldroadie. An accurate head count is the best way to start. So...is that 4 so far?

Dill has had 2 engine rebuilds due to ignitor failures (2 ignitors)

Please report any failures to this thread so I can get an accurate count.
http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/forums/...c9f8#Post410535

This show of solidarity is very inspiring. Wish I could help all of you. To tally an accurate count is a bit of a challenge though... I was wondering if starting a new tread with everyone chiming in for the one and only purpose of being counted. No comments, no stories, no diversions... So each person could post with "count me in" or something. Adding up the total might be easier than doing it here.

Just a suggestion... carry on!

I called Peter Carleo. The office says he does not have an email address. I left him a message. My message indicated that we want to know who his boss is in the area of a mass complaint about workmanship and customer service. Obviously, if he has no email he is a very small player in Triumph.

He may or may not call me back. At this point I don't really care. I also really don't care how many CDI failures we have. Imagine the numbers we don't hear about. The ones that keep getting put back on the street and finally a guy just breaks down and sells the bike for cheap or buys the CDI himself. Contrary to popular belief we do not have all the owners of the 270s on our forum.

The fact that 270 CDI failures are a common theme on this forum along with coils and sensors is enough for a complaint and feedback.

They don't do something fast and firm with Don's bike I will never go near another Triumph dealer again. This is shameful. Triumph should give him a new bike just on general, we screwed up, principles.

Mr Carleo called me back. There is no specific place to complain about anything. All warranty goes through Georgia so if the dealer couldn't find it then Ga. would not authorize it.

We talked about the dozens and constant postings on our web forum about electrics and the frustration of multiple trips to the dealers with no resolution. He is able to look up my V.I.N. and justify if they couldn't find all those days its not their fault etc. You can't expect them to replace something they can't prove is bad, yet.

In short, he indicates they have seen no problem with CDI failure, coils, or anything else that would reach a number worth concern.

He went on to say that web forum discussions are really of no value and misleading so they are not considered or monitored.

My opinion is they have serious electrical design issues. Lucky people get by fine but others suffer in a big way. Kinda like the 80s GM 440 transmissions that failed horribly at about 85,000 miles and cost 3 grand to fix.

They are going to ignore this issue as a general issue. Hopefully Don will win the individual case as that seems to to be the way they like to do things.

I am done with Triumph. I will not buy another one.

Isn't the T-brd a 270 crank? Oh boy!

Easy does it.

ok ok I'll be good..

Ed

That'll be the day...

I have personnally spoken with Peter Carleo (as posted here before). He was not very helpful. I continue to hope (which doesn't seem to be a very good strategy) that my dealer will talk him into doing the right thing. I'm going to suggest that the dealer replace the CDI and and I'll pay for it. At this point, considering the circumstances this past Sunday, I don't care how much it cost to fix it... I just want it fixed.

I'm actually blaming myself for missing the chance to ride with my son. Paying for the CDI isn't an issue, I can certainly pay for it. Up to this point, it's been a principal thing. It should have been replaced under warranty back when this crap all started... but it wasn't. I should have just paid to have it replaced... but I didn't. I've been holding out for someone to do the right thing. So it appears my ego has cost me... to me it has cost me dearly. The blame and the shame is on me.

No, its not my loss. There are more motorcycles out there, I have a few in my garage.

later

Don,
Ask your dealer or that Peter guy...if you pay for the CDI and the bike runs better for more than 30 days, if Triumph will then reimburse you.
Worst they will say is no.

BTW...stop beating yourself up. If your son knows half as much as we all do how important he is to you hes a lucky kid!

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No, its not my loss. There are more motorcycles out there, I have a few in my garage.

later

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Ron, I dont know you but at this point you really need to STFU. We get it...you hate Triumphs and will never own one again. Point taken. Even babies stop crying after a while.

Now I know I deserve a good rebutal...have at it. I know I feel better.

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Isn't the T-brd a 270 crank? Oh boy!

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Yep it is.
And I think it's a deal breaker.

The goal here, the purpose is twofold...
- to vent and
- to do something about it.

Many posts ago I was really inspired by the show of solidarity to take action. So whine first... that's healthy, then take action.

What I gather from Don (not trying to speak for him) is that he had the opportunity to do something about it but didn't. The most effective position to take in LIFE is 'I am captain of my own ship.' Don coulda acted... that's what I heard him saying.

As for Ron well, I enjoyed his call for collective action. He definitely stirred something in me that goes something like, 'united we stand, divided we fall.' I love seeing people pull together and applaud Ron for his team attitude. Oh sure, he expressed lack of trust and disgust with Triumph and I mean duh! If a friend acted like Triumph on some of these issues, he wouldn't be a friend for long. We gotta stick up for our rights as consumers and if we are not heard, I'll move on. I do it all the time with music equipment. NBD!

So I mean, this is a great thread. A place to vent and a place to plan a strategy for a solution. It's been a GREAT thread with really good support from everyone... everyone.

Ron? I love my bike but I sure hear ya. And Don? Sorry 'bout the missed opportunity but you seem to have it together.

Geeze!! There, I feel better too.

What does CDI stand for?

Capacitor Discharge Ignition..

Ed

Capacative Discharge Ignition.
It may not be accurate for our bikes, but that's what some people are calling what triumph calls the igniter. It's the electronic box that times the spark.

Here's a page that explains things fairly well:

Ignition systems

Figured it was the igniter, having some experience with limey motors.
Everybody seems to call it something different.
Down at my end of the block, we just call it the ignition module.
It is often pointed at but rarely found to be the culprit.
With the Triumphs, you don't seem to be so lucky.

Funny, aren't they all "Capacitive Discharge Ignitions" with the coil being the capacitor?

With the Indians, we tracked down the manufacturer of the ignition components
and they have continued to test and replace them to date for us..... at no charge.

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aren't they all "Capacitive Discharge Ignitions" with the coil being the capacitor?

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Not exactly. In a CDI the capacitor charges the primary side of the coil with around 250 volts (instead of the usual 12 volts), this causes a stronger secondary (spark) voltage.

Ignitor replaced. Triumph covered the part, I paid for the labor to install. Bike ran fine on the way home. I hope this fixes the problem.

That's great, Don! I hope it's fixed for you now for good, and you can't go wrong only paying for labor on the CDI.

Right on!! Glad Triumph came through for you!!

Keep us posted on how it runs for a while Don, I hope this has finally gotten it resolved for you.

Don, sorry you didn't get the ride in and for the sake of me reading every post in this thread I am not sure if you got your problem fixed? I too have had an intermitent backfire/cylinder drop out problem. i am pretty sure I have a bad ignition switch. My dealer has told they have NEVER had a bad switch but I can tell first hand I can litghtly jostle my keys and the bike will stutter and or completely quit. The bike has done this setting in my shop as well. I can make the headlight go out with the engine running as well as make the engine run without the headlight being on!! Just thought this might help a little bit in your T-shooting. Too boot I also have a short in my blinker/brake system that blows my 10a fuze at will. Hope this helps.

R,
Mark